I. Technical Field
The present invention relates to light sources useful in communication and computation systems employing optical frequency signals. More specifically, the present invention relates to light emitting devices having controllable emission wavelength.
II. Background Art
Wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) databuses are becoming more common as the implementation of optical communication and computation systems increases. A necessary feature of a WDM system is an optical source or sources capable of providing a plurality of optical wavelengths for use in multiplexing, demultiplexing and/or modulating the optical signals employed. The efficiency of such a WDM system is strongly dependent on both the number of integrated optical sources required to cover the entire wavelength band utilized by the particular system, and the number of channels which can be effectively used within that wavelength band. The number of channels per band is typically limited by the width of the discrete spectral peaks the source or sources are capable of generating.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an optical source capable of varying its output across a wide wavelength band in very narrow wavelength increments.